A Stark Harran
by ExoRipper
Summary: A confident team STRQ enters Harran in hopes of finding a cure for the virus. Faced with their own mortality however, and with the unending hoards of the undead, they break apart. Dying Light/RWBY crossover, Hummingbird, oneshot.


**A/N: What's up everyone? Hope you're doing fine. I unfotunately bring bad news, I don't think I'll get to post the next chapter of Wish Upon a Star on schedule. Whoops :P**

 **I'll post something else instead though: a oneshot/possible prologue crossover between RWBY and Dying Light :D I've made it for a contest on the RWBY Amino, and it accidentally ate my whole week. So without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

Qrow sat atop the tower, perched over the edge as dusk rolled into Harran. Another night of improper sleep haunted his mind, had his mouth gape open as he yawned.

He was unsure about a lot of things in life. Of whether he could get used to the lifestyle of a runner, if he would ever taste decent food again or sleep without being woken up every 30 minutes by a volatile that walked up in their UV lights. But most of all, he was unsure if he could make it out of Harran.

'I can't,' he told himself with apathy as he rubbed the shin of his right leg. 'Not with a bite. Not with the virus in my veins…'

Regret flooded his mind as he remembered. It always did, so he made a habit to forget. Forget that he'd entered Harran willingly. Forget about his broken team. Forget the bad luck that seemed to follow him wherever he'd go. But the chilly air the morning brought about had a tendency to make him remember whenever it nipped at his skin.

"What are you doing up here so early?" A voice rang out softly from behind him, ripped him free of his burdening thoughts.

He got up on his feet and turned around to face it's source. Summer met him with half-open eyes, gray and beautiful as they pierced his soul.

"I didn't even notice when you left the bed…" she whined.

Qrow smiled.

"Sorry," he mumbled a response as he walked over to her. "You're just too sweet for me to wake you up. It's the last good thing I can rob you of…"

He leaned down in front of her, pressed his lips against her forehead and kissed her ashy skin. She threw her arms around his neck as he pulled himself back, latched onto it and got on her toes when he straightened his back.

"You're the last good thing in my life…" She teased before she pressed her lips against his. "What's in store for us today? Did you talk with Ayo?"

"An antizin drop was announced at around 8:30, cauldron zone. Brecken wants me on that asap…" he replied as he felt another yawn make it's way out of his throat. "As for you, you've got a date with Raven's men."

"Aww, why me again?!" Summer complained loudly. "You know I hate her since…" she stopped, thought her words twice over. Even though Raven betrayed them in favor of gathering a small army and ruling over the quarantine, she was still Qrow's sister. "...since the fallout…" she completed in a hushed voice.

"You're the only one they wouldn't kill on sight," Qrow answered her question with a heavy heart. He didn't like knowing her in harm's way, he'd have taken a bullet any day of the week if it means sparing her the pain. But he didn't have a choice. They needed to earn their keep, get the Tower to trust them if they hoped to still make it out of the quarantine.

"Anymore details?" She asked in defeat.

"None. Ayo knows the where and why, talk to him."

"Okay. I'll scavenge a bit if I'm outside anyways," she continued on a more cheery tone. "Fingers crossed, if I find flour and chocolate I'm treating you to cookies tonight."

"And I'll be on the lookout for some fine brandy then," he replied with enthusiasm. His wrist watch started to beep, signaled him it was 7 AM. "...and that's my cue to leave," he continued on an annoyed tone as he muted the damn thing.

"See you tonight," Summer whispered as she leaned in and stole another kiss from him.

* * *

Qrow reached the ground floor and headed straight for the quartermaster. With him and Summer still being relatively new faces around the Tower, they didn't allow them to keep weapons on them while inside. A shame really, especially since Qrow found a rusty sawed-off a few weeks back and fell in love with the damn thing.

"I'm here to pick up Bertha," he joked as he approached the quartermaster's desk. "I'll have her back home by 10 sir, not a minute later."

The old man replied to Qrow's quips with a smile, just like he always did. He started to talk as he leaned beneath the counter.

"Sorry pal, but Bertha stays home today. You went quite trigger happy the last time you took her for a spin, and we're low on slugs."

Qrow's face turned serious right away, his usual sense of humor nowhere in sight.

"Just hand her over, old man…"

"I'm not kidding, Qrow. We have three more slugs left." He threw the shotgun in front of him on the table, along with the three remaining slugs. "You're better off taking a baseball bat. Though I have something you might enjoy more..." He found the thing he'd been looking for under the desk and pulled it out. A scythe's blade, mounted on a machete grip. Polished and sharpened to perfection and back to top it off. Qrow's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm of the morbid kind.

"I'll take it!" He yelped as he reached for it. His hands clasped around the grip, brought it up so he could examine it better. "Oh man, this thing is awesome," he blabbered as he swung it around and got a feel of it's weight. "Did you by any chance weld a spine on it as well?"

"You caught me," the quartermaster answered with a chuckle. "Yes, it's been reinforced where needed. You and Summer really helped around here, you pulled a lot more than just your own weight. So I thought I'd do something nice for the two of you."

"You got Summer something as well?" He asked as he shoved the scythe inside the leather strap behind his lower back.

"I got her a chainsikle," he boasted. "I saw how well she handled nunchucks, so I based it off of that."

"That's great and all…" Qrow mumbled, "but I gotta go. I have to reach the next airdrop before Raven's goons do." He turned to leave and took a few steps towards the exit.

The quartermaster looked down at the table in front of him, and noticed the shotgun missing.

"Dammit Qrow, bring it back!"

Too little too late. Qrow jumped down the stairwell, pretended he didn't hear him. No way would he face the hell outside without a healthy load of lead to back him up.

* * *

It took him a little over half an hour to reach the cauldron area. Qrow wasn't particularly versed in parkour, not like Summer at any rate. Even though he picked up a few tips and tricks in the past month in Harran, he still stuck mostly to the ground when getting from point A to point B.

A particularly poor strategy, he remembered every time he took a corner and ran nose-first into a zombie or two.

'Or three, or a damn hoard cause why not…' he whined to himself.

His luck hadn't changed much since he got to Harran. It was at an all-time low actually, and the world liked to remind him of that with every occasion it got. He'd been bitten in his first night. He'd lost Taiyang to the hungry teeth chasing them the very next day. And to top it all off, Raven had abandoned him and their mission only a day later, stricken by grief.

The only one to stick with him through thick and thin was Summer. She defended him when he was weak. She fed him when he couldn't do it himself. She carried him to the Tower and begged them to take them in when he couldn't walk himself. And for the first week, while he tried to heal from the bite, she risked her life daily serving the Tower just so he'd see his next shot of antizin.

'And the only thing I can offer her is my crappy love…'

She'd been his only stroke of luck. The only good thing to come of out this Harran ordeal, heck out of his entire life. He needed to make it up to her. Pull through and fight like hell and get her out of the quarantine. Easier said than done…

Lost in thoughts, he barely noticed the huge cargo plane approach from the horizon. It's engines roared louder as it got closer, woke up and attracted all the virals that could hear it.

"Like moths to a flame…" he lamented.

As it reached over the cauldron, it dropped a crate with a parachute attached to it out of it's hatch.

It plummeted to the ground, lost speed as the chute deployed and spread wide above it. The wind carried it a few blocks away, on top of a house.

Qrow didn't lose a single second. He climbed on the roof of a lower house and took off into a sprint, leaping from roof to roof as he advanced towards his target. A viral popped it's head up from the eaves ahead, so he stopped and kicked it in it's forehead. It's head shot backwards as it's neck snapped from the force, and it fell into the street below limp and very much dead for a second time.

He cleared the last rooftop and reached the fallen crate. With the scythe on the ready, he approached it slowly. His senses were focused on the world around, sharpened by concentration and tasked with rooting out any danger. Especially the goony kind, sent by Raven to end him.

'She really didn't take this whole ordeal well…' he lamented to himself. Everything seemed clear enough, so he leaned over the crate and undid it's latches. Five blue boxes, filled to the brim with vials of antizin embedded into protective foam greeted him as he threw the top away. 'Score!'

Yes, Raven took it all very poorly, but he understood the why. He was the one to nominate team STRQ for the mission, lured in by riches and fame.

'Summer's kinda' to blame for that as well since she's our leader, but the least I can do is take that blame away from her…'

He was also the one to blame for Tai's death, as his incompetence got him killed. He'd gotten bitten, but insisted they'd move together. Tai took it upon himself to help him along, and his weakness got him killed that first bloody night.

For Raven, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Between getting dragged into Harran and losing her future husband to it, she snapped. The darker side of his sister, the one Qrow suspected was there since they were children, took over. She ran away in the night, and for two full weeks they thought her dead. That was until Qrow got attacked by her goons, or tribe as he later learned she preferred to call them, on his first supply run. He barely made it out alive, and brought an ominous message back to the Tower: Harran has a new master.

He finished stashing all the vials into his backpack, so he took off back to the Tower. His cargo was precious, and he couldn't risk losing it.

* * *

Summer got out of the ground floor, ran face first into the wall of heat outside. A pair of sickles clattered by her side, attached to her belt and to each other by a chain as long as she was tall.

She was enthused. Ecstatic prepared and eager to try out her new toys. She took off through the parking lot, felt the wind dance through her hair and across her skin as she raced towards the safety of the sea of rooftops.

A lonely biter crossed her path, got between her and the ramp she planned to use. But she didn't slow down. Her hands found their way around the handles of the sickles, pulled them free and swung them in front of her.

The first one made contact, bit through the neck of the zombie. Got all the way through, and left a gaping hole in it's wake. She sidestepped it as it reached it's hands for her, and threw the chain in a loop over it's head.

"Say good night!" She yelled, so fired up that the sweat on her skin sizzled. She turned on her heels, back to back with the biter, and yanked the chain forward. It sunk in it's flesh and ripped it to shreds, detached it's head as it fell to the ground.

"Baker of cookies and slayer of zombies," she muttered under her breath with a giggle. Qrow's drunken compliment, and one that stuck with her.

She got on the move again, agile on her toes as she scaled a wall and took off running across the rooftops.

She despised Harran. Hated it's heat and all the death and the dead that roamed the streets. But she could still find enjoyment as she ran, a strange kind of freedom that she couldn't explain. That, and the adrenaline it brought.

She met up with Ayo an hour ago, to receive the specifics of her mission. Apparently, Raven had sent word for her and her alone. Not Qrow, not the Tower's leader Brecken, but her. And that was about it. Naturally, Ayo was concerned. He'd given her the chance to decline, but she decided to go anyway and see what Raven wanted.

"For old time's sake if nothing else…"

She arrived at a rundown house, where the map lead her. An unfamiliar part of Harran, far north and close to the construction site of the New Year tunnel. A couple of armed goons expected her, guarded the door side by side with assault rifles.

'Better not surprise them,' she thought as she whistled. The guards turned, rifles pointed in her general direction.

"Raven sent word for me, I'm Summer Rose!" She yelled from behind cover.

The guards relaxed, pointed their weapons downwards.

"You can come out, I've been expecting you!" A voice answered her as the door behind the thugs opened slowly.

Summer leapt from the roof and into the streets below, in full sight. She lifted her hands in the air, just as a precaution, and approached the house with hesitant steps.

"Come on in," Raven invited from the doorstep. Her voice was gentle, and her demeanor calm enough for Summer to take her up on that offer. She picked up the pace and entered the building.

"It's great seeing you alright," Raven tried to make small talk. "I know I've given you folks at the Tower a hard time lately, but I still genuinely care about you. Which is why I wanted to talk to you."

A hand gesture showed Summer to her seat at a small table, reminiscent of an interrogation room. She sat down and pulled her hoodie off, revealed her dark hair and pale face. Raven sat down in front of her.

"What do you want?" Summer asked, struggled to blend as much disinterest into her words as possible.

"I have some info you might be interested in. Valuable info, maybe…" she stopped for a heartbeat, rethought her words with care. "...maybe a way out of here."

"That's great news!"

"That's valuable news," Raven added, "so I want something in return."

"I only have like, three dollars…" Summer whined as she pulled out three crumpled up bills and threw them on the table.

"Not money you dummie…" Raven replied to her offer with sarcasm. "I want you. Your allegiance. I can make it out very well on my own, but I want to get you out as well."

"Let's say I'm interested. What did you find out?" Summer asked as she leaned back in her chair. She played the passive card really hard, but she knew who she was dealing with. Unfortunately for her, Raven was in the same situation.

"Not so fast, sweetheart. I want a guarantee of sorts, I can't have you say no in the end and walk away with my info."

"I already told you, I have nothing of value on me. Or in general…" Summer clarified for a second time, pointing at the three dollars on the table.

"And I already told you as well," Raven answered on a devious tone. "I don't want valuables, I want you. Boys!"

At Raven's signal, the thugs entered the room. One of them pulled out a pair of handcuffs and handed them to their leader. She unlocked them and placed them on the table in front of Summer.

"If you're interested," Raven said as she pocketed the key, "if you want to go further, hand over your weapons and shackle yourself. If not, get up and leave this instant."

She was threatening and aggressive, more so than Summer remembered. But she was desperate for a way out, desperate to return to her old life, so she gave in. With a sigh, she placed the chainsickles on the table and put her hands in the cuffs.

"You've made the right choice," Raven tried to assure her, "so we shall begin. Word goes around that a few familiar faces entered Old Town. They sat up shop and started digging around."

"Slow down!" Summer cut her short. "What familiar faces? What "shops" did they set up? What are they digging for?"

"Ozpin," Raven said and watched Summer's eyes widen, "and Glynda. They entered the quarantine and made a shelter, much like your beloved Tower. The Embers they call themselves…" she mumbled on a disinterested tone. "James Ironwood and Jacques Schnee followed soon after, and they took over a lab. To develop a cure I suppose, or better yet weaponize the virus."

"That's...wow. The head of the GRE and his right hand, the most notorious general, and the owner of the biggest weapons producer…"

"And they have evac on the ready," Raven boasted. "We help them out, get under their skin, and they might just offer the two of us a seat on the helicopter when they're done."

"The two of us? What about Qrow?" Summer asked with worry.

"What about him?" Raven retorted, spite thick in her voice. "He's the one to blame for our predicament. He's the one to blame for Tai's death. For all I care he can burn in hell. This one and the one in the afterlife."

"I can't leave without him," Summer cried out. "I won't leave without him."

Raven sighed. She'd expected as much from her stubborn ex-leader.

"You'll thank me for this later," she mumbled with disappointment. "Wrap her up boys, and be careful. She's a tricky one."

* * *

Qrow entered the ground floor of the Tower, with a smile almost too wide to fit his lips. He'd done it, he brought back a backpack full of antizin. Enough of it to last them a month, take everyone's minds off the edge. And just in the nick of time as well. The sun plunged below the horizon, allowed dusk to roll into the city.

He climbed up the broken stairway and entered the reception. The backpack came loose as he swinged it off his back and over his head.

Ayo heard him. He got up from the armchair and approached him, bearing bad news. Something Qrow caught onto when he saw Ayo's expression.

'Oh God in heaven, please don't tell me Summer's…' he prayed as his smile faded.

"Qrow, I...I'm sorry…" Ayo stuttered.

He dropped the backpack down and dashed for Ayo, tears drowning his eyes as he grabbed his shoulders.

"What happened to her?!"

"Raven sent us a message over the radio. She captured her. Summer's alive, but Raven made it clear we won't see her ever again…"

Qrow didn't mutter a single word. He swiveled around on his heels, turned to face the stairs and took off. Outside, the Volatiles woke up to haunt the streets again. Their howls echoed through the desolate city, invited each other to the hunt.

'Hang in there, Summer. I'm not letting you down another time.' Qrow thought as he got out of the Tower. Ready to face the night, and thoroughly prepared to end his sister. His radio buzzed to life as he got in the parking lot in front of the Tower.

"This is Brecken speaking. If you haven't made it to the nearest safe house or the Tower yet, you'd better pick up the pace. The Volatiles are out, and they seem more agressive than usual. Good night, and good luck..."


End file.
